Finishing "the Pearl" and in the Midst of "The Old Man and the Sea"

The Pearl , by John Steinbeck was about a man who finds the pearl of the world and is soon swallowed up by greed, paranoia and corruption. At first he wanted to use the money from the pearl for good intentions, like marrying his wife, paying for the medical treatment of his son, and sending him to school. But soon enough, he becomes mistrusting of everyone, thinking they will cheat him to get the pearl, and soon his dreams of a better lifestyle get swallowed up by his greed. Soon enough, his paranoia and greed turns to violence and bloodshed, and the eventual death of his son. The symbolism in this book is very deep, greed as the pearl, and the end being his son dying shows the extent Kino's greed has killed his soul and his family--the two things he cared about most were killed when he decided to love the pearl instead.

The other book I'm reading is The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, which is about a fisherman, living in complete poverty, with only the charity his apprentice provides, and his knowledge and love of the sea and fishing.

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is about our narrator, Charlie Marlow, who takes a journey up the Congo River for the Belgian Trading company to discover the corruption and despair in the Congo. During this time period of imperialism, Belgians inhabited the Congo saying it was the "white man's burden" to educate the Africans whom they considered inferior. What ended up resulting instead is the exploitation of rubber in the area, also many atrocities occurred as a result of Imperialism but the atrocities in the Congo were amongst the worste. This book was one of the first to provide a critical perspective of European imperialism. It was considered controversial becuase Heart of Darkness suggests that imperialism falls apart when men are allowed to operate outside a social system of checks and balances: power, especially power over other human beings, inevitably corrupts. So far in the book, I've learned that Marlow is not one who sees things superficially but derives meaning from everything and takes nothing for granted. At the moment, he and his crew are sailing up the Congo River. This book so far is kind of boring but I hope it'll get better!

Kite Runner: back to Afghanistan.

This book has just shifted into high-gear (not that it wasn't moving fast before, it's now faster). Fifteen years after the death of his father, Amir gets a call from Rahim Khan. Updating each other on their lives, Rahim Khan tells Amir "there is a way to be good again" and asks him to come visit him in Pakistan to see him one last time before dying. Amir soon hops on a plane to Rahim Khan and finds out his old friend didn't only want to see him before dying, but offer him a path to salvation. Of course, we first find out about what has happened ever since Amir has gone to America. Rahim Khan had moved into Baba's house to save it for him to move back into, had Hassan move back in to help him tend the grounds, and time after, Hassan is shot--as well as his wife. This sad situation left his son an orphan, and this is where Amir comes in.... Rahim Khan believes Amir can atone for his sins by rescuing the orphaned boy from Afghanistan. AT FIRST, Amir is reluctant, having just found out so much information in such a short period of time, but then decides to do it, seeing that he owes it to Hassan. This book is quite depressing. The fact that my favorite character, Hassan, is dead makes me so sad. I really like the character of Hassan because his loyalty never falters, and his pure personality is one of someone you'd most definitely want as a friend. I can't believe Amir had been so mean to him as a kid because Hassan had been such a great friend to him... almost like a brother(spoiler alert). No wonder they really are brothers! Love that part, but I wish we'd known earlier about this... when Hassan was living in the story.

Kite Runner continued...

As war breaks out in Afghanistan, Amir and his father flee to the U.S. Fleeing was the difficult part: not only that they were leaving their home country--a hard thing to do for someone like Amir's father--but also, the trip was risky. Luckily, they reach America safely but they pretty much have to start from scratch upon arriving there. Amir finishes high school then goes to college to begin studying to become a writer. While his father begins to work in a gas station to support them. I feel bad for them at this time because back in Afghanistan they had everything they could ever possibly want: they were rich, respected, and all knew them because of their famous family members who made a name for them. Amir is the only one who feels happy to escape Afghanistan because of the memories he'd leave behind, only they seem to follow him nonetheless. Regardless, he falls in love with a girl he meets in America and soon sets out to marry her. Too bad though, his father soon dies after. This book is so bitter-sweet but great at the same time.

The Kite Runner

This book is so good so far! It's interesting to read a book that takes place in a different setting from the places in other books that I've read. The Kite Runner takes place in Afghanistan in the early '80s and progresses as the main character, Amir, grows up. Amir has a tough life: his father is disappointed in him constantly for not being like him, his mother died during child birth, and his only friend is his servant, Hassan. Only, Amir refuses to call him his "friend" even though he's person who he spends time playing with and sees the "face of Afghanistan [as] a thin-boned frame, a shaved head, and low-set ears, a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile" (Hosseini 25). He doesn't call Hassan his friend because of their roots and their places in society. Hassan was a Hazara and Amir was a Pashtun, Hassan was a servant-boy and Amir was rich. This is a major motif during the book: these divisions in their society are what separates the boys from practically being brothers.

Atonement -- Chapter one

This book is about a girl named Briony Tallis who lives a sheltered life during the 1930s with a rich family, and a love for writing--as well as a knack for it. So far the books seems okay, but I never quite believe 12-year-olds to be as deep and profound as they're made out to be in novels written in first-person narrative. In this book, Briony is made out to sound wise beyond her years and extremely insightful, but I doubt the fact that she's able to identify a power struggle between her cousin and herself at such an age. Oh well. At least it makes the book interesting to read and doesn't bore you with what would really come out of a 12-year-old's mouth. Speaking of interesting, it's intriguing how devoted Briony is to her writing and impressing her brother. I predict that she'll become quite a great writer, but her want for finding new character personalities (that aren't like her own) and her creativity pertaining to making up scandalous domestic-based stories are bound to get her in trouble....

Memoirs of a Geisha

This book was AWESOME: it was hard to put down, the story went by fast, and was really creative! The only thing that confused me is that it's called a "Memoir" but was written by a man...? Either way, I disregarded that fact and enjoyed the story because it was beautifully crafted and left me thinking about the characters long after the novel was done. The book was really interesting because you got to see Japan before, during and after WWII through the eyes of a geisha. I'd never known this before, but geishas were considered artists in the craft of entertainment: they learned instruments, dance, and conversation skills. Either way, this book gave both two insights into the life of a geisha: the good and the bad parts. Good, as in they got into a lot of aristocratic parties and met lots of people, Bad, as in their bodies were sold for money and they had no choice in life. For example, the main character, Chiyo (later known as Sayuri), was sold from her home to become a geisha, and had no say in what was going to happen in her future. Although this sort of thing happened in the past in the time of geishas, the story of Chiyo was quite an interesting one, and this book has come to be one of my favorites.